Sheet-stack-handling mechanism.



F. EBERHART.

SHEET STACK HANDLING MECHANISM. V

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6. I911.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

F. EBEHHART. SHEET STACK HANDLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6. 1911.

Patented Sept. 7; 1915.

Z9 M w F. EBER'HART.

SHEET STACK HANDLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6. 19:1.

F. EBERHART.

SHEET STACK HANDLING MECHANISM. APPLICATION man NOV. 6. 1911.

. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

1' if 3 RT, 0]? NEWARK, NEW .TERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAN COMPANY,

OF NEW YORK, IN'. 'lY., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHEET-STACK-HANDLING MECHANISM;

Application filed November 6, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FELIX EBERHART, a citizen of the United States, residing in Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sheet Stack Handling Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in sheet stack handling mechanism.

My invention is adapted to handle sheets of material of all kinds, such as paper, cardboard, metal or other substances which are adapted to be piled in stacks,-and fed one sheet at a time from the stack to the mechanism for operating on the sheets, such, for instance, as printing, coating, slitting, punching or other mechanisms. But I have shown my mechanism as used in handling metallic sheets, such as tin, used extensively in the manufacture of cans or other articles.

In manufacturing plants, methods and devices for the saving of labor and time are continuallysought for, and it is the object of my invention to provide a -mechanism which will save one handling of a stack or pile of sheets, and thus reduce the labor and time, as compared with the methods now commonly used, and further to provide a mechanism which will keep the stack or pile of sheets trued and prevent the displacement of the sheets in the stack relatively to each other caused by removing the stack. from one support to another. sheets of tin, for'instance, where they are In handling fed to a cutting or slitting machine, it has heretofore been customary to place or stack the sheets on an ordinary truck as they come from the coating or lacquering machine, or as the sheets are uncrated in the stock room, then take the truck to the cutting machine, lift the stack of sheets from the truck and place it either on the feed platform of the "slitting machine or on an adjacent table or support and subsequently move the stack from this adjacent support to the feeder platform. And often it is impossible to handle the entire stack of sheets at one operation on account of the great weight, and therefore the sheets will invariably become displaced and out of alinement with each other, which necessitates greater care and more time on the part of the operator to feed the sheets correctly into the cutters or slitters. By this method, the stack or tile Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Sept. '3, 1915.

Serial No. 658,702.

of sheets is handled one or more times and sometimes in sections while transferring the pack from the stock room or the coating machlne to the cutting machine, and neces sarily results in much loss of time and unnecessary amount of labor.

The ;object of my invention is to provide a feed1ng mechanism which will do away with the unnecessary handling of the stack or pile of sheets whereby the stack as it is placed on a truck either in the stock room or at the coating machine, remains in place therefore, consist in providing a sheet stack or pile holding platform or table which is adapted to act either as a truck top or platform or as a feeder platform in a sheet feeding and lifting mechanism and a truck and feeding mechanism or lifting mechanism cooperating with this removable, interchangeable and double functioning platform or table.

More specifically, my invention consists in a platform carrying member in the form of a truck adapted to support a platform or table which is slidably mounted on the truck and detachable therefrom, said truck and platform having interengaging mem bers to prevent the accidental displacement of the platform from the truck; a frame having slidable and verticalFy ad ustable main platform or table supporting mem bers mounted therein, said main supporting members being adapted to be lowered to a position below the level of the stack holding platform when mounted on the truck, said vertically adjustable supports being adapted to engage the underside of the platform or table, the supports and the platform forming the feed table of the feeding or lifting mechanism; temporary or auxilframe onto which the platform is adapted to be moved from the truck ahd supported thereby until engaged by the main platform supporting members; adjustable means for. automatically raising the main platform supportingmembers step by step approximately the thickness of a sheet at a time; and sheet centering and guiding members on the platform.

My invention further consists in the parts and devices and in the combinations ofthe parts and devices herein shown and described or claimed.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side view, showing my improved mechanism for handling stacks of sheets. Fig. 2 is a vertical, longitudinal section, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig.3. Fig. 3 is a transverse,

vertical section, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, showing, however, the interchange- I able stack supporting platform or table mounted on the auxiliary or temporary supable means for transporting a stack or pile of sheets, and preferably is in the form of a-truck, having a frame 11, rear wheels 12'and a front wheel 13 mounted in a swivel shaft 14, said shaft 14 having pivoted thereto a handle 15 bywhich the truck is adapted tobe moved about, said handle I 15 having preferably rear lugs 16, adapted to engage lugs 17 on the swivel shaft 14 to prevent the shaft 15 from dragging on the floor. The transporting device or truck 10 is provided with a horizontal bed portion 18, and is preferably provided on each side thereof with grooves 19 in which are mounted a series of antifriction rollers 20, the tops of said rollers 20 being slightly below the edges forming the grooves 19, whereby to guide the ribs 21 on the stack supporting member or platform'or table 22.

The stack supporting platform 22 is preferably provided with a pair of ribs 21, one on either side thereof, and is furthermore provided on one side with an adjustable'stack truing or guiding member 23, said member 23 being adjustable on the platform 22 as by, means of bolts 24, adapted to be positioned in a plurality ofholes 25 in the platform 22, and in order to provide for adjustments between the holes25, the member-23 is provided with a slot 26 in which the bolt 24 slides. The member 23 is preferably in the form of a casting, having two spaced uprights 27. The table 22 is further-. more preferably provided with additional stack truing or guiding means in the form of a plate 28, which is adapted to be placed on either side of the platform or table 22,

as by means of rods 29 attached to the plate '28 and adated to be inserted in holes 30 provided in the table 22. The table 22, when being positioned upon the supporting member or bed 18 of the truck is guided by the ribs 21 in the slots 19, and in order to retain the platform 22 after the same has been properly placed on the truck and while the .truck is being moved about, I provide a locking member, preferably in the form of a pin 31 mounted in the bed member 18 and approximately centrally thereof and normally projected above the bed 18 as by means of a spring 32 and adapted to engage a socket or hole 33 in the stacksupporting table 22. To release the platform or table 22, the pin 31 is adapted to be depressed by means of a hand operated lever 34 pivoted in depending lugs 35 on the underneath portion of the bed 18 and adapted to engage collars 36 rigidly mounted on the pin 31. I have shown my platform 22 as adapted to be slid over the truck from the rear thereof, but it is obvious that changes well within the scope of my invention may be made, whereby the platform or table 22 may be removed from the side of my truck.

The truck or transporting device 10 is adapted to be positioned adjacent the stack lifting and feeding member proper, denoted generally by the reference 37. The stack lifting or sheet feeding mechanism 37 consists of spaced stationary upright frames 38, adapted to be adjustably mounted on suitable bases 39, as by means of gears 40 adapted to be rotated by a hand operated ratchet and pawl mechanism 41, said gears 40 engaging stationary racks 42 on the bases 39. By means of this adjusting mechanism for the frame members 38, the entire frame may be moved inwardly or outwardly relatively to the mechanism adaptedto operate on the sheets such, for instance, as a cutting or slitting mechanism. To properly retain the frames 38 in their adjusted position, I preferably provide clamping T-bolts 43 and set screws 44. Rigidly attached to the uprights 38 are temporary or auxiliary supporting members for the platform or table 22, said auxiliary supporting members being preferably in the form of a plurality of rollers 45, the tops of saidv rollers 45 being in the same plane as the tops of the rollers 20 of the transporting member 10,

wherebythe platform or table 22 slides directly from the rollers 20 onto the rollers 45. The truck 10, as clearly shown in Fi 2, is adapted to be positioned adjacent the frames 38, and the rear portion of the bed 18 adjacent one of' the rollers 45. Mounted in the uprights or standards 38 are vertically movable platform supporting members 46, each having a horizontal ledg'e 147 and connected by a transverse member 148. These members 46 are adjusted as by means of screws stream and. lift the same in accordance with the feeding movements of the members 46. The screws 47 which feed or raise and lower the members 46 are rotated as by'means of bevel gears 49 at their lower ends, said gears 49 being rotated by corresponding bevel gears 50 mounted on a cross shaft 51 adapted to be rotated step by step as by means of a pawl 52 mounted on the lever 53, said lever 53 forming-one arm of a bell crank having a hub loosely mounted on the shaft 51, the other arm of the bell crank 54 having pivotally connected thereto a link 55 adapted to be reciprocated as by means of an adjustable crank pin 56 mounted on a shaft of the mechanism 57 adapted to operate on the sheets. The pawl52 is connected to the lever 53 as by means of a spring 154, and it will be apparent that upon each reciprocation of the link or rod 55, the pawl 52 will engage the ratchet gear 155 keyed to the shaft 51 and rotate the shaft 51 step by step. By adjusting the crank pin 56 relatively to the center of the shaft on which said pin is mounted, the amount of oscillation of the pawl 52 may be varied, and is adjusted so as to feed the table supporting members 46 a distance approximately equal to the thickness of each of the sheets being handled.

In order to throw the pawl 52 to an inoperative position, I provide a foot treadle 58,

adapted to engage a vertically reciprocating rod 59, said rod 59 engaging the pawl 52 to lift the same from contact with the ratchet gear 155, and said foot treadle 58 is adapted to be locked in its depressed position as by means of a pivoted lever 60 having a notch 61 thereon engaging the foot treadle 58. I also provide means whereby the shaft 51 may be operated by hand to quickly raise the main platform supporting members 46, said means consisting in a lever 62 also loosely mounted on the shaft 51, and having pivoted thereon a pawl 63 connected by -a spring 64 to the lever 62, said pawl 63 being normally ing a sprocket gear 72 on the shaft 51. With the mechanism which I have provided, the stack or pile of sheets 73, havmg once been properly placed on the table or platform 22 while the platform is mounted on the bed of by step the thickness of the sheets, the operator feeds the sheets one at a time from the top of the stack into the cutting or slitting machine 57, and furthermoreby the use of I the guides 23 and 28 mounted on the table 22, is relieved of the necessity of positioning thesheets before passing them into the machine for operating upon them.

It is apparent that many changes and variations may be made in the varlous details of my improved mechanism, and that other forms of transporting devices may be substituted for the three wheel truck which I have shown, and obviously many changes may be made in the platform lifting mechanism without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all such changes and variations are contemplated as fall within the sco e of the appended claims.

claim j 1. In a machine of the kind described, a stationary frame, auxiliary platform sup porting members thereon, main platform supporting members, said last named members being adjustable above and below the level of the auxiliary supporting members, means for automatically raising the main platform supporting members step by step the thickness of a sheet, a device for rendering said means inoperative and hand operated mechanism for lowering the main supporting platform members, substantially as by step, mechanism for rendering said last named means inoperative and hand operated mechanism for raising said main table supporting members, substantially as specified. '3. In a device of the class described, a

stack holding and supporting platform ortable adapted to be interchangeably supported on a transporting device and a stationary stack lifting mechanism, 'said platform havin two sets of. stack guiding or truing mem ers mounted thereon, substantially as specified.

4. In a device of the class described, a stack holding and supporting platform or raising said main platform members step table adapted to be interchangeably supported on a transporting device and a Sta-v bed portion, a truck sup ortmg the same,

and a table having two uprlght stack guiding members thereon, one of said members being mounted on said table and adjustable in horizontal directions relative to a stack of sheets and parallel withthe guiding face of v the other member, substantially as specified. 6. In a device of the class described, a

- 'transportingdevice comprising a horizontal bed portion, a table or platform removably mounted thereon, and means for preventing the platform from accidentally sliding oi the transporting device, said means comprising a vertical pin slidably mounted in the bed portion andadapted to engage a recess in the platform, substantially as specified. 7'. In a device of the class described, a

- transporting device comprising a horizontal bed portion, a table or platform removably mounted thereon, and means for preventin the platform from accidentally sliding o the transporting device, said means comprising a vertical pin slidably mounted in the bed portion and adapted to engage a recess the-platform, said pin being normally spring pressed into said recess, substantially as specified. I

8. In a device of the class described, a transporting device comprising a horizontal 'bed portion, a table or platform removably mounted thereon, and means for preventing the platform from accidentally sliding off the transportingdevice, said means comprising a vertical pin slidably mounted in the bed portion and adapted to engage a recess in t e platform, said pin .being normally grooves serving as guides to properly position the platform as the same is placed upon the truck, substantially as specified.

10. In a device of the class described, a truck comprising'a horizontal bed portion, said bed portion being grooved and having mounted in said grooves anti-friction rollers, and a table or platform removably mounted on said truck, the sides of said grooves servingas guides to properly position the platform as the same is placed upon the truck, and a spring pressed pin mounted on thetruck and adapted to engage the platform to lock the same in position, substantially as specified. I

11. In a device of the class described, a truck comprising a horizontal bed portion, said bed portion being provided with paral. lel spaced grooves, said grooves having a plurality of rollers mounted therein, the tops of said rollers being below the level of the top of the bed and a table removably mounted on said bed, said table having ribs adapted to slide on the rollers and guided in said grooves, a locking pin mounted on the truck andnormally spring pressed into engagement with a recess in the platform,

and means for releasing said locking pin, substantially as specified.

FELIX EBERHART.

Witnesses:

W. D. Fos'rnn, C. W. GRAHAM. 

